Just Ask Terry

I have had fibromyalgia all my life.

Q. Dear Terry, “I have had fibromyalgia all my life. I refuse to take prescription pain pills, as they don’t seem to help. It really seems to bother me the most at night. Is there anything I can take that will help with the pain, so I can get a good night’s rest?” — Nancy H., Little Rock, AR

A. Dear Nancy, I am sorry to hear that you are having difficulties finding effective pain relief. I do have some options that can help you get some healthy sleep and make a significant difference when it comes to pain relief.

Being able to get into a regular sleep routine is crucial to your health because this is when your body goes into repair mode. If you are not getting good, deep sleep your own natural repair and healing activity will not function normally. Lack of sleep can actually slow down the healing process.

You should consider taking absorbable curcumin, boswellia, DLPA, vitamin B6, and melatonin to address your pain. The curcumin, boswellia, vitamin B6 and DLPA each work in a slightly different manner to get you comfortable as quickly as possible. The melatonin helps to regulate your sleep patterns. I recommend taking this combination 30 minutes before bedtime.

Keep in mind that standard curcumin is very poorly absorbed, so make sure you choose a curcumin with excellent absorption that has been proven in published human studies. The best form I have ever found uses curcumin blended with turmeric essential oils. This curcumin has been shown in published human studies to be better absorbed than plain curcumin.

It’s also important to find a boswellia extract that has filtered out the majority of beta-boswellic acid. Unlike most boswellic acids, beta-boswellic acid is actually pro-inflammatory. Removing it greatly enhances the potency of the boswellia extract. You also want a boswellia extract that includes at least 10% or more of acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA), the most active component of boswellia.

Lastly, you want to take vitamin B6 in the form of pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P5P). P5P is the biologically active form of vitamin B6. Many people (some estimate up to 30% of the population) cannot fully utilize B-vitamins from food and supplements, because these forms of B-vitamins must be converted into the active form before they will function. By using the form of vitamin B6 that is identical to the kind your body utilizes, you bypass this problem entirely.